Wig



Ja.x1.28, 1969 R. HARTWICH 3,424,75

WIG

Filed Aug. 25, 1966 United States Patent O 6 Claims This invention relates to improvements in wefted wigs and, in particular, to a weft pattern which provides increased fullness and versatility of styling.

In the wig art, the ventilated or hand-tied wig is the ultimate creation of the wig maker. Each strand of hair is tied to the undercap or netting of the wig by hand which, of course, requires many hours of tedious work. Manifestly, although it is a superior product, the hand-tied wig is quite expensive, particularly with ever increasing costs of both domestic and foreign labor.

As a solution to the cost problem, the machine wefted wig was developed in an effort to reach a wider market. Heretofore, a spiral weft pattern has been utilized, oftentimes in conjunction with hand-tied hair at the hairline in medium priced models. However, the spiral weft places limitations on the styling of the wig since the stylist must always arrange the hair in a manner to cover the areas of the cap to which the hair is not attached. Furthermore, gusts of wind tend to part the hair and can cause the cap to come into view.

It would seem that the solution to problems encountered with wefted wigs would be to decrease the width of the dead zones in the cap defined by the spiral welt pattern. However, providing a tighter spiral is not the answer because of the weight increase which would necessarily occur with the use of additional hair to cover the same cap area. Since wefted wigs with the usual spiral pattern are inherently heavier than hand-tied wigs due to the stitching required to anchor the hair and secure the hair material to the cap, an additional weight increase would produce an unsuitable product from the standpoint of wearer comfort.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a wefted wig in which the strands of hair cover the cap in a manner to simulate normal hair growth and thereby permit greater styling versatility and add fullness to the appearance of the wig without increasing the amount of hair utilized.

As a corollary to the foregoing object, it is an important aim of this invention to provide a weft pattern in which the line of attachment of the hair material to the cap traverses the latter in a sinuous fashion, back and forth over the outer face of the cap to provide an outward appearance comparable to that of a natural head of hair.

A further object is to provide a wig in which individual strands of hair material are secured to an elongated anchoring strip, the latter being disposed on the outer face of the cap and having a sinuous lay on the face throughout the length of the strip to support the hair material in a position simulating normal hair growth.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a lay pattern which traverses the cap back and forth from the front of the cap to the back thereof, adjacent lengths of the strip being contiguous at a plurality of points to define polygonal zones on the cap which are covered by the hair.

In the drawing:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of the wig;

FIG. 2 is a `bottom plan View of the wig showing the waft pattern, the cap being fully shown only at the edges and at certain inner portions of the Wig in order to clearly reveal the pattern;

FIG. 3 is a detail showing a portion of the hair mat attached to the cap; and

3,424,175 Patented Jan. 28, 1969 lCC FIG. 4 is a diagrammatical illustration of the weft pattern of prior art wigs utilized heretofore.

Referring to FIG. l, a wig 10 is illustrated having an inner net or cap 12 which supports hair material 14 styled as shown. In FIG. 2 it may be seen that hair material 14 comprises a multitude of individual strands of hair which extend in all directions outwardly from cap 12.

Attention is directed to FIG. 3 for an understanding of the manner in which the wig is fabricated. A piece of cap 12 is there shown in section, an elongated anchoring strip 16 being disposed in overlying relationship to the upper face of cap 12. The strands of hair material 14 are shown extending upwardly from strip 16, the latter being secured to cap 12 by a plurality of stitches such as illustrated at 18.

Strip .16 is illustrated diagrammatically in IFIG. 3 and may, for example, comprise a machine-sewed seam extending transversely of strands 14. The strands are shown clipped to a short length in FIG. 3, it being understood that normally, the strands are considerably longer to permit the wig to be styled as desired, such as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The two primary components of the wig are the cap 12 and the hair mat formed by hair material 14 and anchoring strip 16. Prior to fabrication of the wig, the cap is separate from the mat, the latter at this time being a length of material which must be attached to the cap in a manner to form the finished wig. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a prior art practice is to sew the hair material to the cap in the form of a spiral pattern, in which case one end of strip 16 would be secured to the cap at a central, rear location thereon and successive convolutions of the strip formed and attached to the cap until coverage of the outer face thereof is obtained.

In the instant invention, however, one end 20 of strip 16 is secured to the cap at substantially the center thereof as illustrated in FIG. 2. (The stitching 18 is not shown in FIG. 2, strip 16 4being illustrated diagrammatically for clarity.) The strip then traverses the cap back and forth in a sinuous lay until the area forwardly of temple portions 22 is covered. The front edge of the cap that defines the forehead hairline is designated 24, the opposite edge that defines the hairline at the nape of the neck being denoted by the numeral 26.

From viewing FIG. 2, it will be appreciated that the weft pattern is effectively divided into a top section, broadly designated 28, and a back section 30. Top section 28, as described above, extends from temple portions 22 forwardly to the front edge 24 of the cap. In this section the numerous lengths 312 are longitudinally arcuate and, for the most part, except for their wavy configurations, traverse generally semicircular paths of ever increasing radius until the outer edge of the cap is reached. An exception is length 34 which interconnects two adjacent lengths 32 and forms the boundary of section 28 through the central, top portion of the cap.

The pattern of lay of the back section 30 also traverses the cap back and forth from front to back, but the wavy or zigzag lengths 36 of strip 16 which form section 30 have lesser longitudinal curvature than lengths 32 of top section 28. The convexities of lengths 32 of the top section face forwardly toward front edge 24, while the convexities of lengths 36 of the back section face rear edge 26.

It should be noted that the sinuous lay of strip 16 and the arrangement of the various lengths of the strip cause each pair of adjacent lengths 32 or 36 to be contiguous to each other at a plurality of points such as illustrated at 38. Thus, a multitude of polygonal zones 40 are dened on the outer face of the cap which are covered 4by the hair as it extends freely from the various lengths comprising anchoring strip 16.

Although the weft pattern of the instant invention is divided into two sections 28 and 30 as described above, it should be understood that the pattern may be formed by a single strip 16 (the strip then interconnecting the sections adjacent the edge of the wig where the pattern is hidden from View in FIG. 2 by the showing of cap 12) or a num- 'ber of strips, preferably interconnected to preclude the formation of discontinuities in the pattern. Additionally, athough not illustrated in detail, a conventional reinforcing lining 42 may be utilized at the rear edge of the cap and at the central rear portion thereof as illustrated by the double seam 44.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wig:

a cap;

a mat covering the outer face of said cap,

said mat including an elongated anchoring strip and individual strands of hair material secured to the strip throughout the length thereof,

said strip having a sinuous lay on said face throughout the length of the strip to support the hair material in a position simulating norm-al hair growth of a human being; and

means attaching said strip to the cap with the hair material extending freely therefrom whereby to permit styling and setting of said mat comparable in appearance and versatility to that of a natural head of hair.

2. In the wig of claim 1,

said lay having a pattern traversing the cap back and forth from the front to the back thereof.

3. In the wig of claim 2,

said pattern including a section generally overlying the top of the cap, and `a section generally covering the back of the cap, each section having individual, arcuate lengths of said strip, the curvature of the lengths on the top of the cap being greater than the curvature of the lengths on the back of the cap.

4. In the wig of claim 3,

the convexities of the lengths of the top section -and the back section facing forwardly and rearwardly of the cap, respectively.

5. In the wig of claim 4,

all of the lengths being wavy throughout.

6. In the wig of claim 5,

each length being contiguous at a plurality of points with each length proximal thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,789,567 4/1957 Jacoby 132-53 2,850,023 9/1958 Taylor 132-54 3,077,891 2/1963 Lane 132-5 3,313,310 4/1967 Sullivan 132-53 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

I. W. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 132-5 

1. IN A WIG: A CAP; A MAT COVERING THE OUTER FACE OF SAID CAP, SAID MAT INCLUDING AN ELONGATED ANCHORING STRIP AND INDIVIDUAL STRANDS OF HAIR MATERIAL SECURED TO THE STRIP THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH THEREOF, SAID STRIP HAVING A SINUOUS LAY ON SAID FACE THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE STRIP TO SUPPORT THE HAIR MATERIAL IN A POSITION SIMULATING NORMAL HAIR GROWTH OF A HUMAN BEING; AND MEANS ATTACHING SAID STRIP TO THE CAP WITH THE HAIR MATERIAL EXTENDING FREELY THEREFROM WHEREBY TO PERMIT STYLING AND SETTING OF SAID MAT COMPARABLE IN APPEARANCE AND VERSATILITY TO THAT OF A NATURAL HEAD OF HAIR. 